Well finally all the planning, arranging and crying has at last come to fruition. My dream to see channels on Audioboo where VI users and sighted users can get together to have long term conversations and discussion are up and running- Hooray!

First up we have Vip Advisor, run by our very own Paul Gough VIP Podcasting. The moment this channel was handed over to Paul it began to fill up with boos. The first discussion was on the subject of travelling alone on public transport and how good London Underground staff are at helping their blind users. Makes a nice change to hear so many positive comments about London Transport!

Then we have Ricky (Caribbean Blind-man) who lives on the paradise island of Puerto Rico. If you have come across Ricky you’ll know how inspirational he is. It is a delight to start the day in the office with the sounds of the parrots, crickets and all the other ambient sounds of Ricky’s Caribbean back garden. He is also very much a tease and will always let you know how hot and sunny it is compared to our cold mid-winter gloom. Ricky is very well known in Puerto Rico and uses his charasmatic personality to help other VI people in his community. He is one of our favourites.

Last but not least is wonderful David Bailey MBE, who is running our first European Channel, it is based in Bosnia and Herzegovina and will be entirely in the Bosnian language. David feels there is a real need in his adopted country for a place where VI people can hang out and a channel which in his words “will help empower blind people and also educate sighted people to the fact that being blind is not something to be ashamed of”. As part of his mission David would really like your help. He is looking for old phones and laptops, if you listen to his boo to hear why. So if you have any old equipment you would like to donate please contact us here at Audioboo – or let him know directly.

Interestingly enough yesterday afternoon I invited Kevin Satzisbal and Freaky Fwoof (Andre) into the Audioboo offices to test our new apps. David was delighted when he arrived and sitting there waiting for him were two of the very people he really needed to talk to about the channel. “Good Shout” as the Aussies say. We had a great afternoon. see the boos below.

The idea of all these channels came from chatting to some of my followers who happen to be blind, Audioboo is a social place but you have to be prepared to reach out and you have to make the effort to make friends. What struck me was how many people felt that Audioboo had changed their lives. I feel very proud to be part of that.

You can visit any of the channels and throw in your own two cents by recording a boo straight into them. They are all moderated and run by the channel owners (not us at Audioboo!) so it’s a great platform to share your thoughts. Once you’ve uploaded your boo the channel moderators will check it out for swearing before publishing them for the World to hear. I know all three of these fantastic new channels want to hear from you – so get booing!